Picker stick guide for looms



Jan. 18, 1949. c, BROWN 2,459,411

PICXER STICK GUIDE FOR/LOOMS Filed Sept. 18, 1946 INVENTOR. CARL D. ,BROWN r y BY 171;. J 175. 4

AGENT.

Patented Jan. 18, 1949 PICKER STICK GUIDE FOR LOOMS Carl D. Brown, Hopedale, Mass, assignor to Draper Corporation, Hopedale, Mass, a corporation of Maine Application September 18, 1946, Serial No. 697,681

7 Claims.

This invention pertains to automatic weft replenishing looms of the bobbin changing type, and more particularly to an improved unit comprising an ejected-bobbin guide support and picker stick guide .for such looms.

, Looms of the type to which the invention pertains commonly include lay swords supporting a lay having a shuttle box thereon, with a slot in its bottom through which an empty bobbin may be ejected by an incoming full bobbin which is inserted into the shuttle by the usual replenishing mechanism. There is commonly provided beneath this slot a picker stick guide and bobbin guide support unit, commonly called a picker stick guide for the sake of brevity. This unit serves a double purpose; that of presenting to the picker stick a surface for guiding the same against forward throw during its oscillations, and that of supporting a bobbin guide in alignment with the ejected-bobbin slot in the shuttle box bottom, said bobbin guide being arranged to deflect the ejected bobbin forwardly out of and away from the loom mechanism into a suitable container. i

It is a common practice in Weaving mills, to insure full utilization of the looms on hand, to weave several different types or kinds of fabric, from time to time, on the same loom. This may entail employment of different types and sizes of shuttles in a given loom at different times. Ordinarily, in adapting the loom to accommodate a different shuttle size, a complete change over of some shuttle box parts including the lay end is effected, an end being installed having a width suitable to accommodate the shuttle size desired. In changing the shuttle box width by installing a desired size lay end and appurtenant structure, it has also been necessary to change the picker stick guide and ejected-bobbin guide support unit, to accommodate the change in positions of the picker stick and ejected-bobbin slot. Thus it was required that several sizes of units of the above mentioned type had to be made, kept in stock, and even kept on hand at the loom.

The above mentioned unit has rigid securement at its ends with the lay end and the sword. Because such units must be rigidly secured in definite space relationship to the lay end and picker stick, the usual procedure in installing the same is to bolt one end of the unit to the lay end, and the other end of the unit to the lay sword. Then the picker stick clearance and bobbin guide angle are checked for correctness.

'A test is made and any misfit is corrected by filing and fitting the portion of the unit lying Zil ing means comprising screws against the sword, after removal of the unit from the loom. This filing and fitting process is repeated until a proper fit is secured. This entails a series of tedious test mountings of the unit on the loom, and trips between the tests to the bench for the filing operations, all of which is time conan adjustably mounted ejected-bobbin guide support and picker stick guide unit.

It is further an object of my invention to provide means whereby the picker stick guide and ejected-bobbin guide support unit of a loom may simultaneously be adjusted as to position with respect to the other lay carried parts of the loom without resort to tedious time-consuming operations.

It is also an object of my invention to provide a simple yet highly effective adjustable unit of the type mentioned which allows of ready adjustment without disturbance of the other loom parts, and which may be used in conjunction with various different sizes of shuttles.

Another object is to provide a picker stick guide unit as described above having an attaching portion provided with a plurality of mountfor adjustably mounting said unit on a loom.

The foregoing and other objects to become evident hereinafter are accomplished in the -construction illustrated on the accompanying drawing illustrating one preferred embodiment of the invention and of which:

Fig. 1 is a View in front elevation of the end of a lay, with certain portions broken away, and having one form of the invention applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a view in section taken along line IIII of Fig. l with certain parts removedfor clarity of illustration;

Fig. 3 is a view in section taken along line III-III of Fig. 1 and Fig. 4 is a view in section taken along line IV-IV of Fig. l.

The loom portion shown on the drawings has a novel picker stick guide and ejected-bobbin guide support unit according to the invention applied thereto, but is otherwise of conventional construction. Of the conventional parts the drawing shows a picker I, a picker stick 2, and a lay end 3 of a type used with a conventional automatic bobbin-changing loom and in which is provided an ejected-bobbin slot 8 at the bottom of shuttle box 5. The usual lay beam 6 is mounted on conventional swords one of which is shown in part at l. Lay end 3 is secured to lay beam 6 in conventional fashion, as by means of bolts 2! shown in section in Fig. 2. A picker stick slot is provided in the lay at 4. Forwardly of the picker stick slot 4 and secured at one end to the lay end 3 as by bolt and nut means 20 and at its other end to the sword I as by cap screw 14 is the combined picker stick guide and ejectedbobbin guide support unit 9. Conventional fastening means ill secure to the unit in bobbin guiding relation an ejected bobbin guide II. Formed integrally with unit 9 are depending friction. fingers 24 arranged to support and guide a picker stick check strap 26. Check strap 26 is held against fingers 24 by a friction arm 23 secured as by a bolt 25 to a bracket 22 formed as an integral part of unit 9. Provided at the end of slot 4 and secured on lay end 3 is a picker stick cushion 2'! to cushion the picker stick in its outward movement. The preceding parts and their functions are old and well known in the art, and need no further description herein.

There is provided in the unit 9 a threaded opening I3 in a position to receive cap screw M, as usual. Spaced about the cap screw is and parallel thereto, a plurality of threaded openings l5 are provided in the unit 9. Each of these openings is provided with a set screw it. With cap screw l4 loosened, these screws Hi are adjusted to extend out of said unit 9 toward and engagin the sword I, and this adjustment is carried to the extent required for proper picker stick clearance. By manipulating the adjusting set screws IE, together with cap screw M, any desired one of a large number of bobbin guide positions and angles relative to the ejected-bobbin slot 8 may be selected quickly and easily, and at the same time proper picker stick guiding and clearance provided for.

Thus it will be seen that by allowing a clearance space at the junction 12 of the unit and the sword, and providing the screws l6 for travel into and out of said clearance space, the unit 9 may be moved horizontally toward and away from the sword I for each successive lay end installed upon the lay, and still be rigidly secured to the sword I. It will further be seen that by having a plurality of adjusting screws l 6 positioned about the central securing cap screw l4, pressure may be exerted at different points about a center, whereby several angles of position of guide 9 may be had relative to the medial line of the ejectedbobbin slot 8 for properly receiving and deflecting an ejected spent bobbin (not shown). This adjustment is permitted by making hole Ma in sword I of diameter greater than that of the shank of cap screw Hi. For-ward and rearward adjustment of unit 9 at screw M causes a slight pivoting action of the unit at means 20, accompanied by a slight deformation of unit 9 along its length. Angular adjustment of the bobbin guide support by means of screws I6 may cause an unobjectionable slight deformation of unit 9.

Having set forth herein an embodiment of the invention it can readily be seen that there has been provided means for accomplishing the objects hereinabove mentioned. Not desiring to limit the invention to this particular embodiment, I claim:

1. In a bobbin-changing loom having a lay including a lay beam, a lay sword, a lay end, and a shuttle box including part of said lay end as the bottom thereof, there being an ejected bobbin slot in said lay end at the bottom of said shuttle box; an ejected-bobbin guide support unit positioned below and forwardly of said slot, means securing said unit to said lay, and a plurality of set screws positioning said unit on said lay, certain of said screws being adjustable and determining the angular relationship of said unit with respect to the lay.

2. In a bobbin changin loom, a lay having a shuttle box thereon having an ejected-bobbin slot at the bottom thereof, a lay sword, an ejectedbobbin guide support unit positioned below said slot, means securing and adjustably positioning said unit below said ejected-bobbin slot comprising a plurality of screws threaded into said unit and extending outwardly thereof into engagement with said sword, said screws acting to position said unit in any of a plurality of positions relative to said lay and to secure said guide to said sword in any of said plurality of positions.

3. In a bobbin-changing loom, a lay sword, a lay beam on said lay sword, a lay end on said lay beam having an ejected-bobbin slot therein, an ejected-bobbin guide support and picker stick guide unit beneath said lay end, screw means attaching said unit to said lay end and lay sword, and a plurality of adjustable screws threaded into said unit at said sword and extending therefrom to engage the surface of said sword whereby said unit may be adjusted to different positions relative to said sword and the lay to provide angular adjustment of said bobbin guide support and clearance adjustment of said picker stick guide, relative to the lay.

4. In a bobbin-changing loom havin a lay sword, a lay end, and a picker stick guide unit positioned generally below the lay end, a plurality of screws threaded into the inner end of said unit, certain of said screws holding said unit to said lay sword and certain of said screws determining the angular position of said unit relative to said sword; whereby said unit is mounted adjustably with respect to said lay sword, and means securing said unit at its other end to said lay end.

5. In a bobbin-changing loom, a lay sword, a lay beam supported on said sword, a lay end on said lay beam having an ejected-bobbin slot therein, an ejected-bobbin guide support and picker stick guide unit generally below said slot, means securing said unit at one end thereof to said sword and means securing said unit at the other end thereof to said lay end, said first named means comprising: a cap screw extending through said sword and threaded into said unit, and a plurality of adjustable screws arranged parallel with and disposed about said cap screw and threaded into said unit and extending therefrom into engagement with said sword; whereby said cap screw secures said unit to said sword and said adjustable screws may be adjusted to vary the spacing of said unit from said sword and the angular relationship of said unit to said sword.

6. For a bobbin-changing loom, a unitary picker stick guide unit including a bobbin guide support provided with a mounting hole adjacent one end thereof and a plurality of tapped holes adjacent to and dispersed about said mounting hole, and adjustable means comprisin a plurality of screws fitted each into a respective one of said plurality of tapped holes for adjustably and angularly positioning said unit on a loom.

7. For a loom having a lay sword, a picker stick guide unit comprising a bobbin guide support; said unit comprising a cap screw threaded thereinto adjacent one end thereof and extending through the sword thereby to secure the unit to the sword, and three adjusting set screws arranged substantially parallel to said cap screw and threaded into said unit and extending therefrom into contact with the sword at locations around the cap screw, thereby to adjustably determine the spacing and angular relationship of the unit with respect to the sword.

CARL D. BROWN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 10 Number Name Date 596,488 Northrop Dec, 28, 1897 1,259,768 Northrop Mar. 19, 1918 1,485,911 Ellis Mar. 4, 1924 2,379,589 Nichols July 3, 1945 

